Electrically operated trap



Jan. 9, 1951 Filed Jan. 2, 1948 E. C. CONLEY ELECTRICALLY OPERATED TRAP 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 S g)" m 7 49 49 45 J6 INVENTOR F lg. .5

' ATTOfP/YfKS Patented Jan. 9

UNITED STATES ATENT OFFICE 2,537,205 H I ELECTRICALLY oPE RATso TRAP Edward Conley, Leavenworth, K5115. Applic'atibhmiuaiy 2, 1948; Serial No. 223

My invention relates to atrap for rodents and other small animals.

An important object of theinvention is to provide a trap for rodents,such as rats, and other small animals which is electrically operated, and automatically resetting: after being sprung, so that it is adapted for continuous catching of the animals. V l

A further objectiis' to provideya trap of the above mentioned class which catches the rodent oranimal alive and Without injury.

still further object of the invention is to provide a trap of novel construction, which is practical, and relatively inexpensive to manufacture.

Other objects and advantages: of the invention Will be apparentduring" the course of the following' description.

In the accompanying drawings; forming a part of this application; and in' which. like numerals" are employed to'designate like partsthr'oughout" the same,

Figure 1 is a vertical section through a trap embodying the" invention, taken on line l l of Fig'urel- ,Figure 2 is a liorizontal sectiontaken online 2 2 o'f'Figure 1;

. Figure B isa'n end elevationview'ed from line 3-3; parti'n section, l

Figure-4 is adiag'rammatic view of an electric circuit, and,

Figure 5 is a vertical section taken on=line 5 of'Figurel:

In the drawings; where for the purpose of illusf tratioriiis shown a preferred embodiment of the inventio'n,:the numeral it designates" a central integral main body portion'of the trap. This central main body portion-"lll'comprises a'lowe rf including verticalrectangular box or chamber l l; rectangular front and'rear ends 12 and l3 ,vertical sides, M and lfii're'ctangular flat bottom l6, and flat horizontal top ll. An intermediate vertical wall or partition lil'e'xt'ends between the sides IA-and l5, andparallel to ends' lZ'aiid I3.

Thispartition I8 is disposed toward the rear portion of chamber H, and divides the same'into a large forwarcl'chamber lfi'andrear chamber 20.

The-top n terminates near'the longitudinal center of chamber l9, as at 2|, leaving the for ward portion of chamber happen at the top.

2 5 and 26 anda rodent oranimalcan 2 22 is supported'upon the is preferably formed inupper chamber 22 ex lower chamber l I; Disposed at the sides I4 and i5 of chamber liyand' extending for the entire lengths of such sides are detachable side chambers or boxes 28 a top 2?. The chamber lower chambe'rlll, and tegral therewith; The

and 72a. The detachable chambers 2s and 2'9 comprise inner vertical sides. 33, disposed flat against sides It and l5,'in' assembly, and outer low sides 3'1, which are vertical and'parallel" to sides 36. The'chamber s 28" and 29 also comprise frontand rear ends 32 and 33, and

tops 34, which are inclined and slope upwardly from the" top the bottom ofupper' cham ber 22. .The lower longitudinal'edges of tops 34;: are'close to the bottoms 35 of chambers 28 and edges of sides 3T to 29, and bottoms 35 are formedof wire masher screen, so that Water may pass into the chambers 28 and 25 through the bottoms 3'5g I latches or hooks 35 carried by the front and rear ends l2 and I3 serveto' detachably connect the'side chambers 28'" and 29 to" the'mainbody portion Ill of the trapl A forward vertical narrow" au?'iliary c amber 37 is '.provided,-and'extends acrossthe full width of front end 12. This auxiliary chamber 31 in.-

cludes' a front verticaIend 38, vertical sides inclined top 40-, and bottom' l'l, which may be'a" continuationof bottom :6.

Suitable openings 42'- are formed in the sides 25 and 26, at the'top's of inclined tops 34," as

shown. The openings 42 permit the rodent to tops 3Zlfto enter the upper walk" up the'inclined chamber 22 from either s'ideof the trap, Similar openings 43' and I M" and l5 of lowerchamberlfij'and in sidesjfl of detachable chambers 28 andjZQl These open ings 4'3 'and 44 register in assembly, and form;

passagesthroughwhich the trapped rodent may pass, in going from Illntoeither of the Manually operated doorsior slides 45 arear ranged upon the inner faces of sides 39; and these slides 45 are operable to coverand uncoverthe An,openin'g or passage 491s form'efdih front end 42', and serves to con-I openings in sides 38;,

nect the interiors of chambers l9 and 31,, so that into chamber |9. are provided upon the ends 32 to facilitate removal of the trappedrodent after it has been drowned.

A normally closed slidabletra'p' door" 48 'is' 4e are provided in tl ie s ides the central-lower chamber detachable side chambers.

pass fromchamber 31 Forward end sliding doors 4'! q z nta l emains, arranged to' form the bottom of upper chamber 22. This door 48 is electrically operated, and adapted to slide horizontally rearwardly, beneath the top H, so that a rodent or animal standing thereon will fall into the lower chamber 19. The door 48 is slidably supported upon rails or angle members 49, secured to sides l4 and i5. A pair of suitable retractile coil springs 58 are connected to depending apertured lugs carried by trap door 48, and also to similar apertured lugs 52 secured to side l2. These springs serve to keep the trap door 48 normally closed, and to return it to the closed position when opened. Near its rear edge, the trap door 48 has rigidly secured to it a depending transverse angle member '53, which extends for most of the Width of door 48. The depending member 53 has a pair of openings to receive the longitudinal parallel sides 54 of a trap door actuating member or loop, including a forward trans verse end 55. The end 55 is arranged upon the forward side of depending member 53, and when pulled rearwardly, the trap door 48 is likewise moved rearwardly to be opened. The sides 54 of the trap door actuating loop extend rearwardly, and pass through guide openings 56 in partition l8, as shown. The sides 54 project through the cores of electrical solenoids 51 and 58, which are mounted upon the under side of top H, and in the rear chamber 20. The sides 54 are adapted to move through openings in the rear end l3 of chamber 28, when the solenoids are energized to move the trap door actuating loop. The loop including sides 54 is made of magnetic iron, or the like, and the sides 54 constitute plungers to be magnetized by the solenoids, and moved axially within the solenoids, to actuate the trap door 46. Rubber bumper blocks 58 are mounted upon the front face of partition I8, and serve to limit the rearward travel of member 53.

Arranged within the upper chamber 22, and mounted upon the top 2'? thereof is a depending bait holder 68, comprising depending curved resilient bait holding prongs 6i, mounted upon a vertically disposed bar 62 of electrical insulating material. The bar is universally suspended, as at 63, and carries opposed electrical contacts 64 and 55, which are electrically connected, and adapted to be moved to engage contacts 66 and 8?, carried by depending spring contact arms 68 and 69, secured to an insulating block 18, by terminal or binding post screws H and '52. The arrangement is such, that a slight movement of the bait holder 60 will cause either of the contacts 64 or 65 to engage a contact 66 or 61 to close a circuit to energize the solenoids 51 and 58 simultaneously, to open sliding trap door 48.

The electric circuit is best shown in Figure 4, and comprises a battery B, arranged at any suitable location outside of the trap. This battery B is connected to a wire l3 which leads directly to and is connected with the electrical contacts 64 and 55, as shown in Figure 4. A wire 14 is connected to the terminal screw 1 l, and leads to the coil of solenoid 51, where it is connected thereto at 15. A wire 16 is connected to the coil of solenoid 5?, as at El, and leads back to battery B. Wires i8 and #6 are connected at 88 and 8| to the wires '54 and 16, and serve to connect the solenoid 58 in parallel with the solenoid 51. A wire82 is connected to terminal screw 12 and to wire 14, as shown.

A sliding door 83 is provided in the side 24, as shown, to facilitate replenishing the bait held in prongs 6|.

A large rectangular opening 84 is provided in the end 23, below inclined top 40, and extends for substantially the full width of end 23, and downwardly to the trap door 48. A hinged wall section or panel is hingedly connected to the end 23, as shown and is adapted to swing vertically outwardly, when pushed from the inside of chamber 22. The panel 85 is suitably spring loaded inwardly, so as to remain normally closed. The lower longitudinal edge 86 of panel 85 projects inwardly, and is provided with longitudinally spaced prongs 87, which project inwardly and downwardly, and rest upon the front edge of trap door 48, when the panel and trap door are closed.

In operation, a rat or like rodent is seeking the bait will walk up either of the inclined tops 34 and enter chamber 22 through either opening 42. The rat stands on trap door 48, and takes the bait held in prongs 6|. This causes the insulated arm 62 to swing slightly, and one of the contacts 64 or 65 will engage a contact 66 or 61. This closes the circuit, and energizes solenoids 51 and 58, which act on sides 54 to slide the trap door 48 to the open position, shown dotted in Figure 1. As soon as the contact at the arm 62 is broken, the springs 50 cause the trap door 48 to snap back to its normally closed position, the solenoids having been deenergized when the contact is broken.

When this takes place, normally the rat standing upon the trap door will fall into the lower chamber l9, and enter either of the dark side chambers 28 and 29 through either pair of openings 43 and 44. When this happens, the slides 45 of chambers 28 and 29 are closed manually, and the hooks 36 are opened to disconnect the chamber 28 or 29 from the main body portion l 8. The side chambers 28 and 29, when detached, may be submerged in water to drown the rat.

It should be noted that the trap is automatically reset, each time a rat is caught and the trap door 48 returns to the closed position. The trap is thus adapted to continuously catch rats, or other small animals, and no manual resetting is needed.

In rare cases a rat may become caught between the front edge of the trap door 48 and the lower edge of panel 85, since the tray door snaps closed quite fast. When this occurs, the panel 85 will yield outwardly, slightly and the rat can wriggle loose and drop into lower chamber [9. The downwardly projecting teeth 81 will prod the rat, and prevent its climbing back up into chamber 22. The action of panel 85 will not injure the rat, however. If the rat should push the panel 85 out far enough to fall into chamber 31, it will enter lower chamber l9 through opening 46.

It is to be understood that the form of the invention herewith shown and described is to be taken as a preferred example of the same, and that various changes in the shape, size and arrangement of parts may be resorted to, without departing from the spirit of the invention, or the scope of the subjoined claims.

Having thus described the invention, I claim:

1. An animal trap, comprising a main body portion including upper and lower chambers, bait holding means including a pivoted arm carrying electrical contact elements arranged within the upper chamber, stationary electrical contact elements arranged in the upper chamber to be engaged by the first named contact elements, a sliding trap door arranged between the upper and lower chambers, an iron loop engaging the trap door and movable longitudinally to open said trap door, electrical solenoids having openings to receive the sides of the iron loop and 2. An animal trap comprising a body portion including upper and lower chambers, bait holding means including a pivoted arm carrying electrical contact elements arranged within said upper chamber, stationary electrical contact elements arranged within the upper chamber to be engaged by the first named contact elements, a trapdoor arranged between the upper and lower chambers and mounted for sliding movement into and away from closing position between said chambers, an electrical solenoid in said lower chamber, wires electrically connecting the solenoid and said first and second named electrical contact elements, an actuating member slidably supported in said solenoid having'one end secured to said door and movable in response to energization of said solenoid to move said door away from closing position between said chambers, and resilient means operatively connected to said door for biasing the latter into closed position. 7 1

3. An animal trap comprising a body portion including upper and lower chambers, bait holding means including a pivoted arm carrying electrical contact elements arranged within said upper chamber, stationary electrical contact elements arranged within the upper chamber to be engaged by the first named contact elements, a

bers, resilient means operatively connected tov said door for biasing the latter into closed position, and bumper blocks within the lower chamber and engageable with said trapdoor to limit the movement of the latter away from closing position.

EDWARD C. CONLEY.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 689,641 Douthett Dec. 24, 1901 1,464,697 Connolly Aug. 14, 1923 2,107,080 Mitchell Feb. 1, 1938 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 16,065 Great Britain 1911 

